When the call connected, Wang Wei's voice rang out, carrying a deliberately adjusted, slightly hoarse and weary respect, and even a perfectly timed sense of "sudden realization."
"Big Brother Jiang... I understand what you said. I truly understand now."
His voice carried a "sincere" sense of remorse: "I was momentarily muddled and got stuck in a dead end. I felt... I felt like I was being suppressed by a youngster and couldn't save face, so I had this wicked fire in my heart with nowhere to vent. I've let you down, Big Brother Jiang. I'm sorry."
"Rest assured," Wang Wei's tone became firm, as if he were making a solemn pledge. "The overall development of the Group is the priority; I understand this! I will definitely put myself in the right place and fully cooperate with the New General Manager's work. I will never cause trouble for you or the Group again! I was thinking wrongly before, but I never will again!"
He spoke these words flawlessly, his attitude so sincere it seemed as if Jiang Jianming's harsh words had truly woken him up.
Jiang Jianming on the other end of the line was silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking, his tone giving no hint as to whether he believed him or not: "It's for the best that you can think this way. Remember what you've said."
"I understand, Big Brother Jiang. Rest assured." Wang Wei guaranteed repeatedly.
After hanging up, the "sincerity" and "weariness" on Wang Wei's face vanished without a trace.
His eyes stared gloomily at the darkened phone screen, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold, mocking arc.
"Cooperate with the work? Heh..." he muttered to himself, sounding like a venomous snake flicking its tongue. "If I can't do it openly, can't I do it in the shadows? Jiang Jianming, you've retired behind the scenes to travel everywhere; how far can your reach still be? Jiang Cheng, you brat... we'll just wait and see."
After speaking, he suddenly grabbed the wine glass from the table by the window and hurled it against the wall.
The expensive crystal glass shattered instantly, shards and leftover wine splashing everywhere.
The girl in the corner trembled all over, shrinking back in terror.
Her noise caused Wang Wei to slowly turn around.
"Get over here." His voice wasn't loud, yet it carried a bone-chilling calmness.
At this moment, his gaze was no longer frantic like before.
Instead, it was a bottomless, cold, and viscous malice that firmly locked onto the helpless girl.
In his eyes, she was no longer a person, but the embodiment of Jiang Cheng, Jiang Jianming, those who looked down on him, and everything in this world that made him feel incompetent and humiliated.
Seeing the girl shivering in fear and not daring to move, Wang Wei suddenly smiled.
That smile was twisted and cruel: "Can't understand human speech? Or do you want me to 'invite' you over?"
As soon as he said this, the girl trembled and almost crawled to Wang Wei's feet.
If she weren't truly desperate for money, she wouldn't do this fucking job where people threw money at her.
Unfortunately, the money Wang Wei offered was simply too much.
At this moment, she could only silently hypnotize herself.
Damn it, last time she even had to eat a stinking bull's penis.
If she did it again this time, she'd get twenty thousand. Even if she couldn't stomach it, she had to.
Seeing her looking like she was forcing herself to eat shit because money was hard to earn, Wang Wei seemed to see himself.
Looking down at her, his eyes were once again filled with scrutiny and disdain.
He suddenly reached out, grabbed her hair, and forced her to look up.
"Just now... while I was on the phone, did I look like a total grandson?"
After saying that, Wang Wei leaned in close, his breath heavy with the smell of alcohol as it blew against her face. "Hmm? Answer me!"
Although the stench made her want to vomit, she didn't dare to gag and cooperated by answering, "I... I wouldn't dare..."
"Wouldn't dare?" Wang Wei sneered. "You're all laughing at me in your hearts, aren't you? Respectful on the surface, but who knows how much you despise me deep down! Just like that little bastard Jiang Cheng! Just like his hypocritical father!"
Wang Wei's voice grew louder, his emotions gradually spiraling out of control, and his grip on the girl's hair tightened.
After speaking, his other hand picked up a specially made short whip with dense barbs from the nearby coffee table. This was a "toy" he had prepared to satisfy his peculiar fetishes.
"When I was conquering the world, they were still fucking wearing split-seat pants! Now they dare to ride on my head and shit!" he roared, his arm swinging down violently!
"Snap!"
The whip tore through the air, lashing heavily against the girl's thin back.
The fabric tore instantly, and a gruesome bloody welt appeared, the tiny barbs tearing away bits of flesh.
The girl let out a shrill scream, her body convulsing violently.
"Scream! Scream louder!" Wang Wei's eyes were bloodshot with excitement and hatred. "Aren't you all waiting to see me become a joke? Huh?! Jiang Cheng! Do you see this?! This is the consequence of opposing me!"
It was as if he saw his arch-enemy through the girl's body.
With every lash, he accompanied it with vicious curses, pouring all the pent-up malice he couldn't vent directly on Jiang Cheng and his father onto this innocent body.
"Put yourself in the right place? I'll show you how to put yourself in the right place!"
"Cooperate with the work? I'll show you cooperation!"
"Going too far? I'll make sure you've gone far enough first!"
The girl's screams gradually weakened, leaving only painful whimpers and convulsions.
Her fair skin was covered in crisscrossing, flesh-tearing wounds, and her blood soaked through her tattered clothes.
But this didn't seem enough to satisfy the beast growing wildly inside Wang Wei.
He threw down the whip, his gaze sweeping over the portable alcohol lamp and small pot of oil used for heating cigars.
An even more perverted idea formed in his mind.
He lit the candle lamp, the blue and red flames flickering eerily, reflecting his distorted face.
"Hot oil... can disinfect, and it can also leave a permanent mark," he murmured to himself, as if performing some evil ritual. "Didn't you think I smelled bad? Hmm? I'll add some 'fragrance' for you, so you'll remember this scent forever—remember today!"
The flame gradually rose, emitting blue smoke.
The girl seemed to sense something, struggling with the last of her strength, her eyes filled with extreme terror.
"No... don't... please... let me go... Don't do this. I'll eat it, I'll eat it, I'll eat whatever you want, however you want. Or we can play something else. Don't use this, it wastes too much fire... let's use something electric..."
"You motherfucker, I didn't call you here for me to serve you. Electric? You wish. You certainly know how to enjoy yourself. I won't let you feel good..."
After saying that, Wang Wei grinned hideously and scooped up a spoonful of scalding candle oil with a metal spoon.
"Want to be comfortable, huh? I'll show you. Who knows, you might even fall in love with it later!"
With that, Wang Wei leered and slowly, precisely poured the candle wax onto a fresh whip wound on the girl's thigh!
"Sizzle—!" Flesh scorched.
As the scream tore through the air and the smell of burning flesh permeated the room, Wang Wei closed his eyes.
In this moment, he was no longer the loser who begged for mercy on the phone, but a god who controlled pain and dominated the fate of others.
He poured all the torture he couldn't inflict on Jiang Cheng and his father in reality onto this substitute, achieving a twisted sense of balance.
Watching the girl scream and hug herself, he threw out a pair of handcuffs and offered a price.
"Want to play with this? Cuff yourself, spread your legs, and I'll give you another twenty thousand?"
If he hadn't mentioned the extra twenty thousand, the girl most likely wouldn't have wanted it.
But with another twenty thousand, that would be forty thousand.
Before her eyes flashed the image of the forty or fifty disgusting customers she would have to entertain to earn that amount.
Closing her eyes, she squeezed out a barely audible sound from the depths of her throat: "...Okay."
Watching the girl struggle between intense pain and money, and finally yield, he tasted the pleasure of completely trampling dignity underfoot.
In this moment, he was no longer the "grandson" who needed to beg Jiang Jianming for mercy, but a "god" who could wantonly decide the pain and dignity of others.